Ecuador’s foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño, has indicated that the UK has abandoned plans to create a commission to resolve the case of Julian Assange, who has been living at the Latin American country’s embassy for 16 months.

Patiño and his British counterpart, William Hague, met in late
June and agreed to create a bilateral commission to examine the
“jurisdictional conflict” relating to Assange, who faces
extradition by Sweden stemming from allegations of sexual
assault.

Assange, who denies the allegations and has alluded to political
motives spurred by critics of WikiLeaks, was granted asylum by
Ecuador in August of last year, and has been living at the
country’s embassy ever since.

British authorities have in the meantime made it clear that he
would face arrest should he depart the embassy, in compliance
with the extradition order.

For his part, Assange has stated his belief that Sweden’s own
order would ultimately lead to his extradition to the United
States, where he fears facing harsh penalties for his involvement
in disseminating thousands of confidential documents by WikiLeaks
provided by whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who is currently
serving a prison term of 35 years.

“Regrettably, the United Kingdom has told us that it is not
interested in forming [the commission], though I had been told by
the minister himself (William Hague) that it was,” Patiño
told reporters on Tuesday.

“We await written confirmation” to come up with other
alternatives, added Patiño.

In July, Ecuador reiterated its support for Julian Assange’s
asylum, while at the same time Patiño met with Hague to establish
a framework to reach a diplomatic solution.

"The Ecuadorean government maintains that the reasons for
which Ecuador granted asylum are still relevant, and therefore
there is going to be no change in his circumstances."

Ecuador has pressed its position that Assange should be granted
safe passage off British soil, while London has maintained its
legal obligation to abide by Sweden’s extradition order.

The UK’s Foreign Office said in July that, despite a 45-minute
meeting between the two ministers, no breakthrough had been
reached.

"Ministers agreed that officials should establish a working
group to find a diplomatic solution to the issue of Julian
Assange, but no substantive progress was made," said
officials.

Now, with Patiño’s announcement, it appears that the diplomatic
process has broken down even further.

One possible alternative may lie with the International Criminal
Court (ICC), which Patiño alluded to in comments earlier in October.